At a glance Level: ISE II Task 2 Multi-Text Reading: Bullying Focus: Task 2 Multi-text reading Aims: To develop reading strategies by reading a short article about four famous people and answering three sets of questions Objectives: To scan and skim the four texts and decide which text each question refers to, to show understanding at sentence level by selecting true statements from a list and to complete summary notes Skill: Skimming, scanning and summarising Topic: Famous people, early memories and personal values and ideals Language functions: Highlighting advantages and disadvantages and expressing and expanding ideas and opinions Lexis: Bullying Materials needed: Whiteboard, pens, one student worksheet per student and dictionaries Timing: Approximately one hour Procedure Preparation Print one student worksheet per student. In class 1. Explain to the class that today in class they will be doing a reading activity that will help them to prepare for Task 2 Multi-text reading in the ISE II Reading & Writing exam. Tell the students that in this part of the exam they are given four short reading texts with a total length of 450-500 words to read and answer questions on. They have 20 minutes to complete the task. They then use this information in Task 3 Reading into writing to complete a writing task. 2. Tell the students they are going to read about famous people who were bullied when they were younger. Write bullying on the board and elicit its meaning.
3. Write the following five questions on the board and ask students to discuss them in pairs for five minutes: 1. What makes someone a good singer? 2. What make someone a good actor? 3. What make someone a good swimmer? 4. What makes someone a good model? 5. What makes someone a good comedian? Carry out group feedback. 4. Give each student one worksheet and tell them to complete Task A. Tell the students that they need to decide which text each question is referring to. Tell the students that they are practising their skimming skills and that this means that they need to read quickly without focusing on details or words they don t know. Tell the students that they have only three minutes to complete the task. Stop the students after three minutes and let them write down the answers. Then ask the students to compare their answers in pairs. 5. Go over the answers together as a class and write the answers on the board. 6. Tell the students that they are going to read the article again. Ask them to carry out Task B. Tell the students that they need to put a tick () next to the five statements that are true according to the information in the texts. Tell the students that they are now practising their scanning skills, which means that they look for specific details in the text. Tell the students that they now have four to five minutes to complete the task because they need to read more carefully. After four to five minutes, ask the students to compare their answers in pairs. Go over the answers together as a class. 7. Ask students if they found the task difficult and if they felt they had enough time to complete the task. 8. Tell the class they now need to complete Task C which involves the students completing the summary notes by looking for specific information in the text. Tell the students they have seven minutes to complete this task. Do one example together as a class. Ask the students to compare answers once they have finished. Go over the answers and put them up on the board. 9. Elicit from the students what the different parts of the reading task are. Tell them that each task focuses on different reading skills. Explain to the students that they can prepare for the exam tasks by finding short texts online and carry out three different tasks. Tell the students that for the first task they should read quickly and answer
the question: What is the text about? Then they should read the text again but more carefully and find five details in the text. The third time they read they should give themselves more time and write a short summary. Extension activity 1. Ask the class to discuss in pairs different ways to prevent bullying. Carry out feedback as a group. 2. Ask students to find a new word in the text and use it in a sentence. Further support activity Ask the weaker students to underline the answers in the text. After class Ask the students to look online or in a book for what schools in their region do to prevent bullying. Ask the students to report back in the next class.
Student Worksheet Task 2 Multi-text Reading: Bullying A. Read the four texts and decide which text each question refers to A, B, C or D. Which text 1. shows how negative traits can become positive? Text: 2. mentions further steps to end the problem discussed? Text: 3. refers to a more modern variant of the problem mentioned? Text: 4. gives reasons and consequences of bullying? Text: 5. gives advice on how to deal with aggression? Text: B. Read the text again. Tick () the five statements from 1-8 below that are true according to the information given in the four texts. Statements? 1. Cyberbullying is a modern form of bullying. 2. A number of celebrities are hardened by their negative experience. 3. Bullying can have a negative influence on someone s performance at school. 4. Christian Bale used to react violently to being bullied. 5. After having lost weight, Tyra Banks became successful. 6. Some comedic actors think they learned how to be funny thanks to the problems they had with bullies. 7. Selena Gomez was bullied when she was a kid. 8. Lady Gaga set up a charity with her colleague Brittany Snow to end bullying.
C. Complete the summary notes below with suitable words or phrases from the texts. Bullying: Summary Notes Celebrities are often the victim of cyberbullying which means constant (1) through social media Some deal well with this perhaps because of being bullied as a child Bullying can have an impact on schoolwork and (2), often psychological problems in later life T. Banks and M. Phelps were bullied because of their appearance but ironically later thanked their (3). to it Ch. Bale and Ch. Rock didn t use (4) in response to their bullies S. Gomez and Rihanna became stronger because of the experience Lady Gaga wants to give hope to her fans and B. Snow started a (5) to end bullying
Reading Text Bullying A. Bullying is of all times, but a more recent phenomenon is cyberbullying in which the bully uses email, text messages, twitter and other social media or online forums to hurt the victim. It is no surprise that celebrities who are constantly in the public eye are cyberbullied relentlessly. Celebrities are critized literally for every move they make. A lot of the comments are about looks. Celebrities need to have a thick skin to deal with this constant stream of criticism. Some seem to do fine though. This may have to do with past experiences as surprisingly many celebrities have been the victim of bullying when they were young. Bullying is a serious problem to such an extent that many children and teenagers are afraid to go to school. The main reasons for becoming a victim of bullying are appearance and social status. Bullies attack their victims physically and psychologically. Bullying can have terrible effects on its victims. Schoolwork may suffer, but also health. Research suggests that victims may suffer from mental health problems later in life such as depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. This doesn t have to be the case though. Many famous people have been bullied as a child and despite this experience have become very successful. B. We cited appearance as a major reason for being bullied. Ironically, the exact reason for being bullied has made some celebrities successful. Supermodel Tyra Banks for example was made fun of for being so thin. This exact thin physique helped her to have a very successful career as a model. Athlete Michael Phelps was bullied in school for his long arms. Later he won several medals at the Olympic Games and those long arms will certainly not have been at his disadvantage.
C. Batman actor Christian Bale used to be beaten up a lot when he was a kid. He feels that it has made him stronger. It was for him a lesson for life. Christian didn t hit back. Violence often makes things worse as you don t know what the bully s response will be. Using violence could in the end have brought him more trouble. Holding the anger cannot be easy but perhaps humor can be thrown in to fend the bully off. Comic actor Chris Rock for example claims he developed his quick wit as a response to being bullied. D. Actor and singer Selena Gomez was bullied all the way through elementary and middle school. She said that it was her energy and focus that made her a target. Ultimately, the experience has made her a stronger person. A similar story we hear from colleague singer Rihanna. She also got bullied in school but now she is even grateful as the teasing has made her tough. Extravagant pop star Lady Gaga went even further as she actively uses her experience of being bullied to reach out to her fans and this way tries to give them hope. Singer and actor Brittany Snow also used her negative experience for something positive by setting up a non-profit organization that seeks to put an end to bullying.
Answer Key A. 1. B 2. D 3. A 4. A 5. B B. True statements: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 C. 1. criticism 2. health 3. success 4. violence 5. non-profit organisation Original sources: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marlo-thomas/celebrities-who-survivedbullying_b_3367046.html http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/bullying/bullies.html